Leslie Kaminoff on Yoga Anatomy, AI Book Fraud, and What Yoga Is

Matt interviews longtime yoga educator and Yoga Anatomy co-author Leslie Kaminoff. They cover Kaminoff’s at New York’s Sivananda, a brief period as a Swami, and his perspective shaped by over 20,000 hours of bodywork focused on breathing. They discuss AI-generated fraud flooding Amazon’s chair yoga rankings, ethical uses of AI as well as the need for critical thinking around “fantasy physiology,” fascia claims, and pain science (including asymptomatic MRI findings and biopsychosocial factors). They explore alignment as person-specific, long-term hip health, and Kaminoff defines yoga practice via Patanjali’s Kriya Yoga (tapas, svadhyaya, ishvara pranidhana) and the breath’s voluntary/involuntary nature.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

00:52 How Yoga Anatomy Began

02:02 Making the Illustrations

04:01 Why Amy Joined

05:06 Leslie Yoga Origin Story

07:09 Sivananda Training Talk

09:26 Debunking Yoga Myths

10:29 AI Fake Yoga Books

18:57 Ethical AI Use Cases

24:00 Fascia Hype and Labs

27:03 Yin Yoga Debate

30:00 Mystery of Mind and Pain

31:58 Pain Without Damage

32:22 MRI Findings Explained

33:50 Fibromyalgia and Labels

35:15 Yoga Teachers Helping Pain

38:08 Fear of Spinal Flexion

41:00 Neutral Spine and Hip Wear

44:05 Feet First Alignment

47:00 Do Poses Have Alignment

52:33 Yoga Competitions Debate

54:38 Technique Versus Inquiry

58:39 What Yoga Really Is

01:02:47 Wrap Up and Where to Find

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What Is Prana? Bernie Clark on Breath, Yoga, Science, and the Evolving Story of “Life Energy”

Resources mentioned:
Buy Bernie Clark’s new book Prana
The Galaxy Song with Eric Idle & Monty Python

Matthew Huy welcomes back yoga author Bernie Clark to discuss Clark’s book Prana: One Breath, Many Worlds and what prana and kundalini might mean in historical, yogic, and scientific contexts. Clark explains that “life energy” is a modern framing and traces prana’s roots in breath and ancient attempts to explain life before modern anatomy and experimentation, comparing Eastern and Western ideas and highlighting outdated beliefs like spontaneous generation and Greek theories of reproduction. They explore how science tests hypotheses, the risks of rejecting modern medicine for ancient claims, and how unexplained experiences can still be valid data. Clark proposes prana as “communication energy” or cellular signaling, discusses fascia research and meridian correlations as speculation, and shares personal stories about overdoing pranayama and pushing through pain in practice.

00:00 Welcome Back Bernie Clark
02:37 Why Write Prana
03:23 What Prana Meant Then
05:35 Teaching The Energy Body
06:30 Memoir And Pranayama
10:05 Ancient Body Myths
13:21 Modern Skepticism And Risk
19:51 Science Explains Experience
30:50 Prana As Cell Communication
34:57 Meridians As Watersheds
37:30 Fascia Comes Alive
38:02 Meridians and Fascial Boundaries
39:21 Energy Flow Speculation
40:53 Keep Practice Simple
42:14 Yoga Healing Anecdotes
44:12 Pranayama Gone Too Far
46:02 Everyday Enlightenment
49:10 Cold Stretching Experiment
52:12 What Studies Miss
59:03 Best Guesses and Beliefs
01:01:02 Wrapping Up and What's Next
01:02:41 Final Thanks and Outro

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Download my free e-book 5 Truth Bombs to Make You a More Confident Yoga Teacher.

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June 3rd Workshop: Alignment Doesn’t Prevent Injury — So What Should We Do Instead?

Use code POD20 for 20% off!

“Yoga butt” is often blamed on poor alignment in yoga poses. But is the science really that simple?

In this episode of the Enlightened Anatomy Podcast, Matthew Huy explores the research behind proximal hamstring tendinopathy (PHT), why alignment probably doesn’t predict injury as much as social media suggests, and why modern tendon science is more about load, recovery, and capacity than “perfect posture.”

Topics include:
• What PHT actually is
• Why “yoga butt” is a misleading term
• Tendon adaptation and the Cook & Purdam model
• Why pain ≠ tissue damage
• The limits of alignment-based explanations
• Load vs capacity in yoga practice
• Why fear-based cueing can backfire

Reference:
Cook & Purdam (2009) PMID: 18812414

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Download my free e-book 5 Truth Bombs to Make You a More Confident Yoga Teacher.

For yoga teaching tips, follow me on Instagram or on Facebook.